A National Framework For Establishing And Managing Marine Protected Areas

1. A National Framework For Establishing And ManagingMarine Protected Areas

2. Marine Protected Areas: Legislation • The Oceans Act • confirms Canada’s role with respect to oceans management, specifying the need to integrate marine conservation with development activities to maintain healthy ecosystems.

3. Marine Protected Areas: Legislation • The Oceans Act • identifies three complimentary initiatives for the conservation and protection of the oceans. These legislated initiatives are: • Integrated Management program. • Marine Ecosystem Health program. • Marine Protected Areas program.

4. What is a Marine Protected Area? “A marine protected area is an area of the sea that forms part of the internal waters of Canada, the territorial sea of Canada or the exclusive economic zone of Canada and has been designated under this section for special protection.” Section 35. (1)

5. Why Do We Need Marine Protected Areas? • MPAs are needed to conserve and protect: • commercial and non-commercial resources and supporting habitats; • endangered or threatened species and supporting habitats; • unique habitats; • areas of high biodiversity or productivity; • areas to fulfil mandate of Minister.

6. The Approach to the MPA Program • The approach to be used in the MPA program consists of the following key elements: • Effective partnering; • Information sources; • Ecosystems overviews; • Public awareness and education; and • Learning-by-doing.

7. The Approach to the MPA Program:Effective Partnering • Cooperation is encouraged in all steps in the process. • Key program areas dependent on partnering: • Gathering of information; • Development of public awareness of environmental issues; • Conducting of research; and • Enforcement of regulations.

8. The Approach to the MPA Program:Effective Partnering • Prospective partners in the MPA Program: • Coastal communities and non-government conservation organizations; • Fishing and aquaculture interests; • Aboriginal communities and organizations; • Ocean industries; • Provincial and municipal governments; • Federal departments.

9. The Approach to the MPA Program:Information Sources • A major constraint in planning for MPAs is the limited understanding of the dynamics of our marine ecosystems. • Where knowledge is limited, management decisions will be made on a precautionary approach.

10. The Approach to the MPA Program:Information Sources • Information deficits will be addressed by: • Pursuing sustainable development, integrated management, and the precautionary approach; • Using MPAs as a learning opportunity by applying the adaptive management principle; • Establishing a monitoring component as part of some MPAs; and • Using MPAs as natural laboratories to conduct enviromental research.

11. The Approach to the MPA Program:Ecosystem Overviews • Studies used to characterize ecosystem types. • These studies will: • Enable MPAs to be developed in a systematic manner; • Assist in the evaluation and selection of MPAs; and • Contribute to initiatives such as integrated management.

12. The Approach to the MPA Program:Ecosystem Overviews • These overviews include information on: • Existing and planned uses (fishing activities, resource extraction, recreation); • Environmental conditions; • Ecological characteristics such as key species distribution and critical habitats. • May consider scientific and traditional knowledge.

13. The Approach to the MPA Program:Ecosystem Overviews • Will provide important information for managing human activities affecting sensitive ecosystems, habitats, and species.

14. The Approach to the MPA Program:Public Awareness and Education • Public awareness and education of DFO’s Marine Protected Areas program is of utmost importance. • Successful partnering requires that interested parties are well-informed and knowledgeable. • The aims of the program must be clearly defined and understood.

15. The Approach to the MPA Program:Public Awareness and Education • Various materials will be required for different audiences including: • Schools; • Resource users; • DFO and other government agencies; • Communities; and • Non-government agencies.

16. The Approach to the MPA Program:Public Awareness and Education • Various educational tools can include: • Public meetings; • Brochures; • Booklets; • Educational videos; • Computer presentations; and • Web-based materials

17. The Approach to the MPA Program:Public Awareness and Education • Effective education and stakeholder support can reduce enforcement requirements by: • Encouraging participation by interested parties; • Creating an understanding that leads to better compliance; and • Providing a forum, through the partnering arrangements, for addressing concerns.

18. The Approach to the MPA Program:Learning-by-doing • The evolving MPA framework is to be adaptable and to be phased in, thus providing practical experience in establishing and managing MPAs. • The framework design will be constantly examined to consider ways of streamlining and adapting it to meet the needs of regions and stakeholders.

19. The Framework to Establish a MPA • The steps to be followed in the process of designating a marine protected area: • Identification of an Area of Interest (AOI) • Initial screening and evaluation; • AOI recommendation; • Development of a Management Plan and MPA recommendation; • Formal designation as a MPA.

20. Identify an Area of Interest (AOI) • An AOI may be identified by: • DFO and other government agencies; • Community groups • Coastal communities and Aboriginal organizations; • The fishing sector; • Environmental organizations; • Academic institutions; • Other stakeholders; • The general public.

21. Identify an Area of Interest (AOI) • The MPA program accepts nominations of areas for consideration as MPAs.

22. Initial Screening and Evaluation • The initial screening involves an assessment of an AOI to determine if it should be evaluated in more detail. • Suggested AOIs will be screened to ensure that the purposes stated for the proposed area conform to the reasons stated for MPAs under the Oceans Act.

23. Initial Screening and Evaluation • Types of information that may be required for initial screening: • The location of the proposed AOI; • An outline of the purposes and rationale for establishing an MPA in this location and how these related to Section 35 of the Oceans Act; • A brief biophysical description and socio-economic profile of the AOI and surrounding areas

24. Initial Screening and Evaluation • Types of information that may be required for initial screening: • The types of management measures and regulations that might apply to the area; • The suggested involvement of stakeholders or sponsors in the future management of the area; • Contact person, group or agency leading or facilitating the MPA process.

25. Initial Screening and Evaluation • Proposed areas of interest that may qualify for MPA status are placed on an AOI List. • The AOI List is made available to the public. • Areas that are on the AOI List are monitored to ensure that the ecological integrity of an area remains intact while awaiting a final recommendation concerning MPA status.

26. Initial Screening and Evaluation • Where it is believed that the ecological integrity of an AOI is being threatened by activities, interim protection measures may be implemented.

27. Initial Screening and Evaluation • The AOI evaluation consists of: • Ecological Assessment; • Technical Assessment; and • Socio-economic Assessment.

28. Initial Screening and Evaluation • Initial Ecological Assessment • The ecological assessment addresses the following questions: • Does the proposed MPA comply with the reasons for MPAs stated in the Oceans Act? • What are the ecological merits of the proposal? • How significant are these?

29. Initial Screening and Evaluation • Ecological Assessment • In addition to the ecological knowledge, the assessment should include: • a list of human activities which may need to be controlled, • any restoration needs for the area, and • the potential for recovery of natural ecosystem functions, if applicable.

30. Initial Screening and Evaluation • Technical Assessment • The technical assessment addresses the following questions: • Is the proposal feasible from a management and technical perspective? • What adjustments can be made to improve feasibility and practicality? • What should the boundaries of the AOI be? • Is there public and stakeholder support?

31. Initial Screening and Evaluation • Technical Assessment • The technical assessment determines: • The prior recognition of the conservation value of the site, such as international recognition of a site’s importance; • The contribution of the site to integrated management purposes; • The availability of the site for designation; • The appropriateness of proposed area boundaries and management regulations for meeting the proposed management objectives;

32. Initial Screening and Evaluation • Technical Assessment • The technical assessment determines: • The capacity of management resources for planning and management; • The public and stakeholder support for the proposal; • The nature of cooperative partnering or co-management arrangements that might support management of a MPA; • Possible conflicts with adjacent uses, and measures to lessen these; • The demonstration value of the site for conservation purposes.

33. Initial Screening and Evaluation • Technical Assessment • It also refines the proposal: • To improve its acceptability; • To minimize technical problems; and • To ensure the design for the proposed MPA is appropriate.

34. Initial Screening and Evaluation • Technical Assessment • It also develops partnering, co-management, or co-designation with other agencies to meet site objectives. • It considers whether other measures or regulations might be more appropriate for conserving and protecting resources (e.g., fisheries closures or harvest regulations).

35. Initial Screening and Evaluation • Socio-economic Assessment • A socio-economic assessment answers the following questions: • How would the establishment of a MPA affect human activities in and around the proposed MPA? • How can socio-economic benefits of the MPA be enhanced or the costs reduced?

36. Initial Screening and Evaluation • Socio-economic Assessment • The socio-economic assessment determines how the establishment of a MPA may affect: • Fishing uses; • Community uses (local recreation, anchoring, food gathering); • Aboriginal interests (claims, commercial uses, food fishery, cultural or traditional activities);

37. Initial Screening and Evaluation • Socio-economic Assessment • The socio-economic assessment determines how the establishment of a MPA may affect: • Economic and transportation uses (oil and gas, minerals, sand and gravel, aquaculture, resort uses, shipping, docks, defence and maritime security interests, aircraft facilities); • Cultural, recreation, and tourism values and uses (seascapes or landscapes, wildlife viewing, shipwrecks, educational opportunities, recreational seashores or water areas).

38. AOI Recommendation • After completing the assessments, DFO will review the information and make a recommendation that a site either • Be designated as a MPA candidate (which requires the development of a management plan); or • That it be considered for other forms of protection.

39. AOI Recommendation • Public involvement • Interested parties will be given a reasonable opportunity to participate in the assessment of an AOI. • They will be notified of recommendations concerning the AOI and encouraged to comment on them.

40. Development of Management Plan and MPA Recommendation • Purpose of MPA Management Plans • The management plan for a MPA will state: • The reasons for the MPA; • Its goals and objectives; • How the goals and objectives are to be reached; and • How the success of the MPA will be measured.

41. Development of Management Plan and MPA Recommendation • Development of a MPA Management Plan • A management plan will be prepared for each MPA, based on: • Proposals and assessment reports, and • Comments of stakeholders, the public, and government agencies. • Formal process of developing a management plan begins after the AOI evaluation has been completed.

42. Development of Management Plan and MPA Recommendation • Development of a MPA Management Plan • Management planning will proceed by working with: • Other federal agencies; • Provincial agencies; • Local governments; • Aboriginal communities; and • Organizations, non-government stakeholders, and the public.

43. Development of Management Plan and MPA Recommendation • Development of a MPA Management Plan • Suggestions for management may come from: • Ecosystem overviews and AOI proposals; • Information gathered in the ecological, technical, and socio-economic assessments; and • From public input.

44. Development of Management Plan and MPA Recommendation • Content for a MPA Management Plan • The management plan will provide details on how the MPA will be managed. • It will provide a number of parameters for management such as: • Location and boundaries of the MPA; • Zoning; • Prohibited activities; and • Other relevant regulations, additional policies, strategies, or other management tools for achieving the purposes stated for the MPA.

45. Development of Management Plan and MPA Recommendation • Content for a MPA Management Plan • Establishing a MPA may require implementing a variety of initiatives to manage the area, including: • Resource studies (inventories, research and monitoring); • Public awareness and education; • Surveillance; • Enforcement; and • Resource use management.

46. Development of Management Plan and MPA Recommendation • Development of Management Plan • Partnering Arrangement • Where the MPA is to be co-managed with another organization, the MPA management plan will state these proposed arrangements and detail the commitments, responsibilities and roles of the organizations.

47. Development of Management Plan and MPA Recommendation • Development of Management Plan • Funding • The plan should identify the sources of funding and a projected management budget to support program activities.

48. Development of Management Plan and MPA Recommendation • Development of Management Plan • Background information and resource analyses • The MPA management plan should contain a summary of resource information relevant to plan objectives. The AOI proposal and assessment reports will contain much of the necessary information. Additional information may be obtained for detailed area planning.

49. Development of Management Plan and MPA Recommendation • Development of Management Plan • Zoning • The Oceans Act allows for zones defining levels of protection to be established within MPAs. The MPA management plan will include all zoning provisions that: • Specify which activities will be permitted or prohibited within each zone; • Establish boundaries for specific activities and permitted uses; • Prescribe rules of use and restrictions on various activities.

50. Development of Management Plan and MPA Recommendation • Development of Management Plan • Zoning • The number and type of zoning categories will vary to meet the purposes for which an MPA is established. • Zones may include: • strict “no take” or “no activity” areas, where access is severely limited; • Areas where controlled use, limited resource harvesting, or other human activities are allowed under specified conditions; and • Temporal zoning categories designed to vary provisions depending on seasons or other time periods, such as spawning.